Entebbe Oval
CEYLON LIONS 251/10 Simon Ssesaazi 43 off 60 balls, Lawrence Ssempijja 30 not out off 29 balls in 50 overs lost to STRIKERS CC 159/5 Zephaniah 34 off 19 balls, Derrick Bakunzi 25 not out off 34 balls in 21.1 overs by 5 wickets
(D/L revised target of 157 in 22 overs)
Player of match: Zephania Arinaitwe
Ceylon Lions are battling to save their Div One status and have to win as many games as possible hoping that their close rivals also drop points. Their win over KICC last weekend gave them a boost and were hoping to build on to that against Strikers.
They won the toss in Entebbe and chose to bat scoring a commanding 251 all out with Simon Ssesazi (43), Arnold Otwani (42) and Captain Lawrence Ssempijja (30) contributing heavily to the score.
On a ground like Entebbe 251 is a winning total and going into the break Ceylon Lions were more or else sure of the points. However, a rain break change the odds of the game in favour of Strikers.
After D/L calculator gave Strikers a target of 157 in 22 overs, the short format of the game favoured Strikers power game and the onslaught was started off by Zephaniah Katungi (34) and he found an able partner in Derrick Bakunzi (25).
Strikers overhauled the total with five balls to spare claiming their first win in three games. They have had a terrible second round despite having a strong first round campaign where they beat up on some big boys.
The loss though diminishes Ceylon Lions chances of staying up, they will have to win all their remaining three games with a bonus point in each and also pray that their close rivals keep dropping points.